


Some People Become Besties After Creating a Secret Handshake and Sharing Nail Polish. Other People Become Besties By Using Rare Archeological Artifacts for Secret Signals and Scaring People into Heart Attacks.

by quiet_or_die



Series: One Piece Drabbles [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Archaeology, Gen, Musical Instruments, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Tags Are Hard, goth friends, holy shit the notes are as long as the fic, no really, nothing says besties like a whistle that sounds like someone dying, please suggest tags in comments, scaring both of their crews and laughing about it later, the cryptic chaotic duo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27659066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiet_or_die/pseuds/quiet_or_die
Summary: Law+Robin Achievements:Friends - Unlocked.Goth and Morbid and Caffeinated - Unlocked.Nerdy Night Owls - Unlocked.Your Trauma Looks Like My Trauma - Unlocked.Current Achievement: Besties - Progress: . . .In which Law and Robin bond, and scare people.
Series: One Piece Drabbles [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744621
Comments: 12
Kudos: 27





	Some People Become Besties After Creating a Secret Handshake and Sharing Nail Polish. Other People Become Besties By Using Rare Archeological Artifacts for Secret Signals and Scaring People into Heart Attacks.

**Author's Note:**

> First off: I'm super sorry about this fic. It's been a thing in my drafts for months, and I'm giving up and posting it as is. It is not complete. Honestly I only had some vague ideas starting this fic. And it is quite frankly ridiculous how much research I have done compared to how much writing there is. . . . no really. The last time I worked on this fic I added one more paragraph and ended up doing FIVE HOURS of research. I had planned to have 3 segments, originally. In reality I only managed 2.
> 
> So it's quite embarrassing to be posting what is little more than a rough draft.  
> However, I am still very fond of the idea and still very passionate about the research I did, and I really would like to share it for those reasons. 
> 
> I am not trying to appropriate or misrepresent anyone's culture. Actually, for a quick blurb to raise awareness: please do not use el Día de los Muertos as a source for your aesthetic or Halloween celebration. It's not just a holiday, it's a tradition steeped in culture and religion. And my god, guys it's for THE DEAD. It's a day to remember people you have lost, and to spend a day with them. Please be respectful. I myself have a mask decorated in el Día de los Muertos style. However, I wear mine in private, when the grief of those I lost is heavy. I have not worn it in public, but if I do it will be on el Día de los Muertos, at the tombstone of a loved one. 
> 
> My endnotes include some of the research I did and some YouTube links so you can hear what these whistles sound like. Please mind the warnings before clicking on a link. 
> 
> Thank you @Cassheep for reading over it and letting me know if it made sense. (She did not actually beta so any spelling mistakes or whatever are just on me. I just literally needed to know if the fic made sense lmao.)

It started, as a great many things did, as a result of that chaotic mass of force known as Luffy. More specifically, it was due to the fact that no matter what plans Law developed, no matter what contingencies he prepped for, no matter what warnings he stressed, no matter what prior agreements the Strawhat captain had made, Luffy simply did whatever he wanted in any singular moment. And from one moment to the next, whatever he decided to do could change drastically. And because their captain did what he wanted with no regards to the people he partnered with, the crew ultimately did the same. Law wasn’t an idiot, he had known the Strawhats were the textbook example, the very definition, of chaos back when he first met them in person at that auction house. He’d reveled in it, even. Still, it made for a very, _very_ difficult alliance.  
And so, while on the way to Wano with a contingent of Strawhats, Law mused on the necessity of at least _some_ form of reliable communication between himself and a more reliable member of the allied crew. Even if said form of communication was composed of simply two messages: “FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition and Any Repair” and “You’re Needed Here _Now_.” He weighed his options, but really, there was only one person he could choose.  
And so, he had approached Nico Robin.

* * * * * *

Before everyone had gone to their assigned missions in Wano, it had been agreed that every so often, they would hold a meeting to touch base, exchange information, and, if necessary, alter the plans. One such meeting had started, but the Hearts Captain was currently missing, and without him things were becoming rather . . . heated. Suddenly, a freeze-your-blood-and-stop-your-heart scream rose above the raised voices.

  
_**AHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhuhhhhh!!!!**_

  
Everyone in the clearing jumped.  
“Wh-what was that?” Usopp asked, looking around nervously.  
“It sounded like a woman being murdered, perhaps she was chopped into pieces by a rogue samurai.” Robin suggested cheerfully with a smile just as Law walked into the clearing looking tired and annoyed.  
“Sorry, there was a slight delay.”  
“Is it something we should be worried about?” Kin'emon asked.  
“No, it’s been taken care of . . . in a permanent way,” Law replied ominously.  
Usopp wasn’t the only one who shivered.  
Kin’emon cleared his throat. “Well, now that you’re here, the situation is—”  
“Um, sh-shouldn’t we investigate?” Usopp asked, with Penguin and Sachi nodding in agreement.  
“Investigate what?” Law asked.  
“Um, that scream?” Sachi asked, as he, Penguin, and Usopp all traded looks.  
Law shrugged. “There’s no need. We’re all here.”  
“But—”  
“These are dangerous parts and our situation is precarious, investigating such a thing would only put our mission in peril.” Kin’emon stated heavily. “We cannot involve ourselves.” And that grim declaration set the tone for the rest of the meeting. At least now everyone was focused and on task, rather than arguing over disguises.

And of course, the Strawhats and Hearts had no idea that this was only the beginning.

* * * * * *

After Law had presented his idea to her, it was Robin who came up with the actual mode of communication.  
“What is this, exactly?” Law asked curiously, studying the object she had handed him. It was sculpted in the shape of a clearly human skull with something resembling a chimney or pipe protruding from it at its zenith, and appeared to be made of clay. If one breathed into the protrusion, one would be breathing directly into the back of the skull. Robin held another, smaller one.  
Robin smiled. “It’s a death whistle.”  
Law looked at her, intrigued, waiting to hear more, and she did not disappoint.  
“It is still used today in the Shishano Kingdom for festivals, most commonly Dia de Los Muertos, but there is a lot of debate about what its original purpose was. Today it’s generally associated with the god of wind, Ehecati—as two of these whistles were found with the male skeleton of a sacrifice at his temple in Tlatelolco—or with the god of death, Mictecacíhuatl—since they are in the shape of a skull and have been found with skeletons, at both burial and sacrificial sites. Of course, there is a possible ancient reference to this instrument by a traveler who describes the Toxcatl festival, which would then connect it with the god Tezcatlipoca, who is associated with the night sky, night winds, the north, hurricanes, jaguars, obsidian, and war.”  
The archaeologist paused there, in the manner of one who knows few people care about the things they do and is uncertain if they have said too much already about something they are passionate about. Robin loves her crew and they never put her down or discourage her. If she speaks, they listen. But while she and Chopper can discuss the history of medical appliances for hours, Chopper isn’t as comfortable examining bones or corpses as she is. And while Nami will spend an evening with her comparing different navigation techniques used in the different Blues, she isn’t as interested in drawing connections between each Blue’s navigational techniques and their favored government styles. Usopp loves hearing about famous inventors he reminds her of, but he’d rather make his own inventions than hear about the invention of the wheel. She and Brook might spend a week trying to find the original composer of a popular melody, but he loses interest once they find out who it was whereas Robin wants to know more about who the person was and their hometown. With her crew, Robin knows how much detail each crewmate cares for. Law, she is still figuring out.  
Law merely smirks at her and says “Well it seems like we both fit right in then,” and waits for her to continue. So she does.  
“The whistle’s sound mechanism is mathematically complex. If the instrument is not made exactly right, it will not work, and, as clay is an unforgiving medium, it means the crafters know exactly how much mass the whistle would lose during the baking process.” Law nods along, easily drawing the conclusions that she does about how advanced the society was. “The end result is some degree of control over timbre, which means they could create a wide range of soundscapes. These whistles are unique to the aerophone family due to the way the wind flows inside their cavities, which create organic fluctuations of air pressure. They have been called “chaos wind generators” because of the chaotic effects of the open chambers inside them. First the air is pushed into a channel, which leads into a round sound generator where the air is split, creating the air pressure needed to make sound. But from there the sounds enter the “chaos chamber” and it is this that creates the death whistles’ unique sound. They are not musical in the modern occidental sense as the resulting sounds are organic.” She waits to see if Law realized what she’s saying on his own, or if more explanation will be necessary. Robin is pleased that Law is as quick on the uptake as ever.  
“So other people aren’t likely to realize it’s a signal of some kind.” The look Law gives her has its sharp edge exposed. “Very clever of you.” He says simply. She’s given him a glimpse of her mind and what it can do, evidence of why the World Government fears her so, evidence of what he’ll have to contend with when the alliance breaks, as it eventually must if Law is serious about pursuing One Piece for his own. But his gaze is level because he already knew she was dangerous, and why. After all, he is dangerous in the same way she is. For all the secrets they both hold hidden in their rib cages amongst bones and blood, knowledge that will die with the beating of their hearts, they still recognize and understand one another.  
“The generated sounds are generated inside the band of highest audible sensitivity for humans, so their sonorous mechanism was designed so they could be heard with high intensity at short distances or at large distances.”  
Law nods again at this. “The chaos chamber you mentioned, when the sound reaches it and becomes organic, there must be a lot of vibration. The instrument would produce extraneous noise. Clearly, they designed it that way on purpose, but it’s a curious design for a musical instrument.” His words stop there but his implications do not.  
“Indeed.” And this was why it was sometimes more rewarding to discuss whistles with someone like Law rather than a musician like Brook. This was one of the main reasons Robin had become quite fond of Law. “When two or more Death Whistles are played together, special effects can result, due to the presence of “phantom sounds” created by the vibration. Since they can produce infrasonic vibrations, they can affect different states of consciousness and heart rate, and this has led some to theorize that they were used in warfare as a psychological weapon.” She watches as Law’s interest becomes razor focused, as he begins analyzing possibilities, even as she continues speaking. “However, this also means that it is possible that they were used to treat certain illnesses or to alleviate pain. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much research into them for a long time, and their effects on health have never been formally analyzed.”  
And there were many, many details there that were right up Law’s alley, but the link to medicinal application was when he became fully invested, and also when he realized exactly how screwed he’d be if this alliance ever ended on negative terms: Robin knew just how he worked. Of course, he’d already known that would happen, with how much he’d shown his hand when he brought out his coin collections, even the secret one. He tried to ignore the resultant uprising of stress and panic, leftovers of a lifetime of clinging to life by your nails and teeth that he’d never fully unlearn. This is something he does not regret, and something he refuses to let himself regret in the future.  
Besides, Nico Robin had looked at the cards he held when he showed her them, however secretively and indirectly, and her answer had been to tilt her own hand. So with a grin that was certainly more than a few shades darker than what was generally deemed socially-acceptable, Law blew into the whistle.

  
**_AAAAAAAAARHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAHhhhhhaaahhhhh!!!!!!!_ **

  
Immediately, there was chaos on the submarine.  
“Holy shit! Did someone just get murdered!?”  
“Who was that?? Whose scream is that?”  
“A Strawhat maybe?”  
“OH MY GOD. IF A STRAWHAT JUST DIED ON OUR SHIP WE ARE SO SCREWED.”  
“CAPTAAAAAIIIINNNNNNNNNN!!!”  
Law smirked at the chaos. “I’m glad to see the name wasn’t a misnomer.” Law told Robin, who was quite obviously enjoying herself. Robin chuckled in response and replied,  
“A fitting tool for the Surgeon of Death.”  
And it was. Chopper wanted to create a cure for every illness and disease, but there were different types of doctors for a reason. This type of treatment was not one that the gentle reindeer would ever feel comfortable considering, let alone experimenting with, and so Robin had never ventured to even show him the whistles, let alone consider their medical possibilities. Perhaps it was foolish of her, entrusting a pirate known as the Surgeon of Death with such a thing. After all, there were many medicines that doubled as poisons, and this whistle was no different. It could be quite dangerous indeed.  
And that was just why Robin thought the whistle fitting for him, for her, for the alliance between their crews, and for their own partnership.

**Author's Note:**

> While my fanfic may have been mediocre, I hope you learned something new. If you’re interested in what these whistles sound like, check out the list of music videos below. Please read the descriptions first. If you’re interested in some of the research I used, after the music videos I have a short list of some of the research I used. Musicians and scientists will likely be most interested in the last research link in my list (that is #7). 
> 
> Music Videos  
> 1\. This video from First Nations Music is being posted first because a couple different Death Whistles are blown singularly. This is a good intro for those who are curious but who might not feel very comfortable with creepy things. A lot of descriptions of the sound of Death Whistles say things like “wind blowing” or “storms,” but in my experience my first thought is someone screaming. And these screams are NOT the movie screams we’re all familiar with. They’re a lot more unsettling.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sw0VCtZs-g
> 
> 2\. This next video features modern usage of the Death Whistle by musician and instrument maker Xavier Quijas Yxayotl who has drummed up a lot of interest in these whistles by using them. Another key figure to researching Death Whistles is Roberto Velázquez Cabrera. Just two people to look into if you’re interested!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s66mt7yh8-s
> 
> 3\. Yxayotl is not the only modern musician to incorporate Death Whistles! The Meramec College Symphonic Band uses it in this video:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvc1GXBjTSg
> 
> 4\. This last video has 10 or more Death Whistles playing together. Please, please, please do not watch/listen if you did not like any of the previous videos. I love creepy things, I always have. My favorite Disney movies as a kid were the Black Cauldron and Fantasia. My favorite part of Fantasia? The devil. Most shocking of all I actually like Pierrot Lunaire (do I hear the exclamations of musicians and music fanatics screaming?? Yes, yes I do.) But this video really is unsettling. Please stop listening if you become start becoming uncomfortable or on edge. It’s 10 minutes long and that’s . . . a lot. Just know your limits! I don’t want anyone to have a disturbing/unsettling experience because of a fanfic I wrote. Science is not kidding when it says multiple death whistles together physically affect humans, so please take care of yourself.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McpzD6JoCMc
> 
> Research  
> For those of you who are interested, here is some of the research I looked at:
> 
> 1\. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26300597?seq=1
> 
> 2\. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41700022?seq=1
> 
> 3\. https://www.archaicroots.com/education/strange-haunting-sounds-of-the-aztec-death-whistle/
> 
> 4\. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/29/science/complex-whistles-found-to-play-key-roles-in-inca-and-maya-life.html?pagewanted=1
> 
> 5\. https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-mysterious-phenomena/aztec-death-whistles-sound-human-screams-020129 
> 
> 6\. https://asa.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1121/1.3508553
> 
> And this last source I’m listing I believe will be especially interesting to musicians/scientists as it includes a detailed sonorous analysis. It also has two really nice pictures of a dissected Death Whistle.
> 
> 7\. http://tlapitzalli.com/mctlapitzali/aire/ehekae.html


End file.
